Soldier Stood Near M’Kinley

Sharpsburg Man One of the First to Reach Czolgosz.

     John Neff, Tenth street [sic], Sharpsburg, yesterday received a letter from his son, Louis Neff, a private in the Eighty-fifth regiment, United States regular army. Neff was the sole representative of his regiment doing guard duty at the Temple of Music on the day President McKinley was assassinated. Neff was standing close to the president at the time the shots were fired and says he was one of the first to have the pleasure of jumping on Czolgosz.
     The friends of Neff say he is a most daring man and when it was learned that the assassin had been badly used up they were all sure that the Sharpsburg man had a hand in it. Neff is a big man, 31 years of age, and weighs 175 pounds. He has been in the regular army for the past five years and has seen service, both in the west and the Philippines. Accompanying the letter were several Buffalo papers of recent date mentioning the conduct of Neff as worthy of praise.